Agnew's Mind He's got a long journey ahead of him.

DC Univeristy: The Martian Manhunter

    by Mike Agnew Jr.

Martian Manhunter is one of the greatest character in the DC universe. His real name is J'onn J'ones, which you kinda have to say with a french accent, jjjjjawn jjjjjjowns. For the most part, J'onn's story is similar to Superman's. As sole survivor of the planet Mars, J'onn travels to Earth and assumes the identity of a detective for the Chicago police Department under the name John Jones. As a detective he learns much about the human race. He witnesses the good with the bad. This turmoil is what defines his character. He's kinda like batman, not really trusting everybody and often going his own way and excluding himself from missions based on his personal beliefs. Actually, J'onn and Batman have a cool friendship. Sometimes the two of them have telepathic conversations while Superman and the rest of the Justice League battle out some argument about ethics. These conversations can be quite funny. J'onn normally talks in a very definitive tone and when someone like Batman makes a counterpoint that shuts him up there is normally a funny quirk or cliche that follows.

On to his Powers... He has a bunch so let me just list them off: Super-Speed, Flight, Shape-Shifting, Super-Sight, Martian Vision (X-ray), Super-Strength, Telepathy, Eye-Energy Beam, and the ability to turn invisible and let things pass through him or travel through walls. His telepathy is often used as a switchboard between minds ,allowing teams to communicate even when their com links are down. Superman often refers to him as "the most powerful being on earth". He does, however, have a weakness to fire. Fire is what destroyed his home world so he holds a buried fear. This fear normally causes him to return to his martian form and return to the fetal position. There have been times where he overcomes this fear in times of need but, for the most part, he reacts like the Scarecrow versus the Wicked Witch. As with most comic book characters, if you give them all the powers you have to give them a simple weakness in order to achieve some power balance.

Manhunter normally comes in two looks: the native martian look where he's pretty much naked and has a very long and alien shaped head and the super hero look where he has a normal human shaped bald head, a cape, trademark red crisscross straps across his chest. In both forms he is still very green. When he is undercover as John Jones he is in classic trench coat gear.

Manhunter is one of my favorite characters because he is a contrast from all the other major characters ,even though he shares so much with them. The difference is he is constantly trying to figure out the human race and much, like the Flash, he keeps the League morally in check. His story is also a sad one since he lost his wife and daughter during the destruction of Mars. His telepathy powers often cause him to playback this event over and over as if he is reliving it.

Aside from his superhuman powers, the Manhunter is also a skilled and very capable detective. As Batman mentions in his file, "in many ways, Martian Manhunter is like an amalgam of Superman and the Dark Knight himself."

He has one other weakness that I also share......

Suggested Readings: Kingdom Come